Straight From The Heart: Does Integrity Require Rules

By Dhanvin Kumar, National Finalist at ESU-MIDP Public Speaking 2016

Albert Camus, a world-renowned philosopher, once said. ”If you create rules to live by, sooner or later you'll encounter the situation where wisdom will have you break them. "

A very good morning, members of the hall. Today, I seek all of your ears for my speech, "Straight From The Heart." I am not here today to recite poetry, nor a Hindi movie, but to plant the seed in each and every mind in this hall that integrity is a virtue that comes straight from the heart and doesn't require rules. 

For us to judge the statement well, let me resolve the statement into its two main components- integrity and rules. From what I know, integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles in one's life. Rules on the other hand, are a set of regulations within a particular area or activity.

Rules and integrity are two man-made designs that seemingly are unable to live without each other. The best example would be practiced by the leader of a nation. Leaders are supposed to be people of integrity, as they are the ones that will decide the fate of their nations. Their integrities are flanked by the long list of rules that act like statements of conduct on how they should be "politically correct" while in office. In theory, this may sound good. What about those who break the norm, however? Are they considered as people of no integrity? Does a leader have to be unblemished in his virtues in every angle even though his main duty of leading his subjects and governing the country is exemplary?

While peasants like us may crave for integrity in our national institutions, the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles will never be instilled in without reverence being set inside us. It is this reverence that has been rehashed as rules today.

What do I mean by this? It is simply that rules are there to scare us into acting "politically correct". Most of us fall under its spell and are bound to it for life. It is not a guarantee that we will act with integrity. Rules are not our brains, are they? So why should they even play a role in how they act?

Flipping through the history annals, I could not help but notice that no leader has ruled without a set of principles of conduct. Name them- Alexander, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan. Can we say that they had no integrity, for they needed laws to govern? Their feats and achievements may have been great but cannot be taken at face value for history is always written by the victors. Perhaps even they knew that integrity and rules do not complement one another.

Integrity and rules do not co-exist. If mankind can carry out his obligations with restraint, rules should not be existent. A political leader with all sorts of rules to back him is not a person of integrity as the virtue does not come straight from the heart. 

Let me cite an example. Ex-US presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton presided over different eras of the United States- namely the 70s and the 90s, but their stories are somehow connected. Both had all the rules set in place, including a Constitution that had been created 200 years ago. But both of their political careers were tarnished- due to their non-existent integrity.

Nixon, the Watergate, was not so fortunate unlike Clinton, who I actually saw out his second term despite the Lewinsky scandal hanging over his head. The main issue here is, was integrity upheld with these rules? Not at all. Integrity is a human trait and is upheld only by the individual's sincerity to practice it. Apparently, Nixon, and to a lesser extent, Clinton lacked the trait. They erred big time in office and exposed the world's worst-kept secret, which was integrity is not guaranteed by rules.

If a leader were to rule with integrity, he or she would not need a long list of rules to carry out his duties with integrity. It needs to come from the heart. Instead of loudly claiming to be someone of integrity, the leader needs to show it! Show it by practicing honesty, meritocracy, tolerance and other good values openly. Leaders should also treat corruption and cronyism like Devils and not Angels. 

With integrity you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide.

With integrity you will do the right thing, since you have no guilt. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the next time we see a leader acting without integrity, remember that integrity is always dependent on the heart and soul of someone. 

- [x] Be the type of person that leaves a mark, not a scar. Thank you.